Baseball

Dodgers slug to 7-2 win against Cardinals

ABS-CBN Sports on Jul 24, 2016 08:22 PM

Los Angeles Dodgers' Joc Pederson, left, is tagged out at home by St. Louis Cardinals catcher Alberto Rosario during the sixth inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 23, 2016, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Los Angeles slugger Adrian Gonzalez hit a 429-foot homer to spark a three-run sixth inning which lifted the Dodgers to a 7-2 win at St. Louis on Saturday in a clash of National League contenders.

The Dodgers remained four games off the NL West lead behind San Francisco, which ended a six-game skid with an extra innings victory at the New York Yankees.

In the NL East, Miami downed the New York Mets to open a 1-1/2 game gap between the division rivals, while the key American League encounter saw Baltimore defeat Cleveland in a meeting of division leaders.

Los Angeles' Justin Turner hit a two-run double to cap a four-run third inning and increased his tally of runs batted in since the All-Star break to an impressive 14.

Dodgers' starter Kenta Maeda rebounded from a poor outing in his previous staff, and prevented all but one of the Cardinals' first 15 batters hitting the ball out of the infield.

San Francisco's Mac Williamson homered in the fifth inning and hit a tiebreaking single in the 12th to give the Giants a 2-1 win against the Yankees, and a belated first win since the All-Star break.

Williamson, whose fourth-inning error allowed the Yankees' only run, began the comeback when he connected leading off the fifth.

Trevor Brown hit a double leading off the 12th, and Williamson singled up the middle with one out, just past the glove of the diving shortstop, to bring in the winning run. San Francisco had been 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position since the All-Star break, before Williamson's single.

Miami's Giancarlo Stanton homered and had his first four-hit game since 2012, driving in three runs as the Marlins beat the Mets 7-2.

Stanton put Miami ahead to stay in the third inning when he hit a majestic two-run homer off the left-field scoreboard above the 401-foot sign. He added an RBI single in the fourth, and singled in the first and sixth, hiking his average to .241 after a prolonged slump.

Miami starter Jose Fernandez gave up two runs in seven innings to match his career high for victories in a season at 12. He also had two hits and drove in the first run.

Baltimore's Mark Trumbo hit his major league-leading 30th home run to help the Orioles beat Cleveland 5-2.

Trumbo connected with a man on to cap a three-run first inning. Playing in his first season with Baltimore, Trumbo already has eight more homers than last year and is just four short of matching his career high, set in 2013 with the Los Angeles Angels.

Seattle's Nelson Cruz hit his ninth career grand slam and added a three-run shot to power the Mariners past Toronto 14-5.

Cruz moved his season home run tally to 25. It was the 13th time in team history a Mariners player has recorded seven RBIs. The team record is eight by Mike Blowers, Mike Cameron and Alvin Davis.

Hishasi Iwakuma allowed two runs in six innings to take his fifth straight victory but was rarely under pressure as the Mariners pounded out 19 hits.

Texas' Cole Hamels allowed one unearned run in 5 1/3 innings to steer the Rangers past Kansas City 7-4.

Hamels, who is 6-1 with a 2.24 earned run average per nine innings over his past nine starts, lowered his season ERA to 2.87.

Nomar Mazara and Adrian Beltre homered for the Rangers.

Houston's Evan Gattis had two home runs and four RBIs in his return to the lineup, leading the Astros to a 7-2 win against the Angels.

Gattis sat out Friday with a bruised right hand after being hit by a pitch Wednesday. He came back and hit a three-run homer in the second inning and added a solo shot in the fourth to give Houston a 5-0 lead.

Astros starter Collin McHugh allowed two runs with six strikeouts in six innings.

Washington's Stephen Drew hit a game-ending triple in the ninth inning to lift the Nationals past San Diego 3-2.

Anthony Rendon opened the bottom of the ninth with a single. Drew entered with one out and drove a pitch off the center-field scoreboard, and Rendon raced around the bases for the winning run.

San Diego left runners in scoring position in each of the last two innings.

Milwaukee's Zach Davies held the Chicago Cubs scoreless into the seventh inning and guided the Brewers to a 6-1 win.

Chicago ace Chris Sale was a late scratching after what the White Sox called a "non-physical" clubhouse incident and the game against Detroit was suspended by rain after eight innings with the score tied 3-3. It will be completed Sunday.

Pittsburgh's Gregory Polanco and David Freese hit two-run singles during a five-run fifth inning to rally the Pirates to a 7-4 victory over Philadelphia.

Minnesota's Miguel Sano homered and Eduardo Nunez drove in three runs, including two in a five-run seventh inning that rallied the Twins to an 11-9 win at Boston.

Colorado's Trevor Story hit two home runs to set an NL rookie record for shortstops with 26 for the season as the Rockies defeated Atlanta 8-4.

Oakland's Ryon Healy hit a game-ending home run in the ninth inning two batters after teammate Jake Smolinski had tied it with a two-run homer as the Athletics pinched a 4-3 victory over Tampa Bay.

Cincinnati's Jay Bruce hit a three-run homer and barely missed another in the Reds' 6-1 victory over fading Arizona.